Author: Catherine Fairfield Hayes

Illustrations: Veer Images

Publisher: Lynn Brown & Associates

ISBN: 978-1-513607719

What really caught my eye when I picked up a copy of Catherine Fairfield Hayes' compact book, Contemplations On God And Orgasm was its back cover that succinctly describes the theme of the book as follows:

Based loosely on studies of religion, the sciences and the Subconscious, philosophy graduate Hayes speculates on events and customs interlocking two powers: God and Orgasm. Noting the similarities, readers are given the opportunity to view these thoughts from a new perspective.” What is this all about? I never associated orgasm with anything religious.

Some people claim that whenever they connect to God through prayer or meditation they go into ecstasy. They further describe the sensation so powerful and so overwhelming, that it leaves them with feeling euphoric. In the Preface to her book, Hayes informs us that she believes there are several parallels between our experience of God and that of orgasm “since their elusive essence is often expressed by the same words and feelings, could they possibly be two sides of the same coin?” In the thirty-six pages that ensue she defends her hypothesis by presenting a series of engaging questions and references that compare how we feel when experiencing an orgasm with the delightful state of being lifted up and floating outside oneself during zealous prayer.

Her pointed questions provide quite a buffet of food for thought such as: We have had over the centuries many different kind of Gods, why not have a God of orgasm? The Greek word ecstasy means “standing outside oneself,” and this is how we often describe how it feels during the ecstatic moment of orgasm which the Greek God Dionysus was credited with this wild freedom. Consequently, who is to argue that the orgasmic ecstasy is not dominant to all Gods, including the monotheistic God of Western religions? Here is one that will have you scratching your head and wondering if this is stretching it a trifle? If someone cries out, “Oh my God,” at the moment of climax, is it simply an exclamation ecstasy, or is it an acknowledgement that there is indeed a deity living inside the pelvic?” If you remember the old testament, Moses asks God what His name was, and to this, God said, “I am what I am, I am that I am,...” and Hayes remarks, “and orgasm is what it is and never what it isn't.” How about: “are the mysteries of aesthetic appeal to be found in the unparalleled beauty of organism?” And here is one that is sure to stir the pot: “Is it God we are praising in Church and Sunday school, or the divine knowledge of orgasm?” Hayes ends her provocative questions with: “God is perfect. Is there anything more perfect than orgasm?

Hayes has fashioned quite an impeccably composed little book offering a plethora of fascinating quotes and passages garnered from different religions as Judaism, Hinduism, Bahai and Christianity exploring the topic of orgasm where theories about its nature have shifted dramatically over the years. In fact, many health care practitioners have only recently acknowledged the existence of the female orgasm. Up to the 1970s there was a strong belief that it was normal for women not to experience orgasms. And now along comes Hayes who has taken a bold step and tendered another interesting perspective that will surely capture our attention and make for some very illuminating conversations, if not controversial.

Follow Here To Read Norm's Interview With Catherine Fairfield Hayes